Every new habit takes about two weeks to accept. I’m four days into my new eating plan and things are going ok. I managed to survive two parties this past weekend and still have a good time. Saturday night, I stayed away from the food table and amused myself by playing poker. It was a fun game with the use of Mardi Gras beads as “money” rather than actual cash. We got so detailed about our beads that we began assigning them values and demanding the correct “value” be used when playing. It was a blast.

Sunday was a birthday party at mom’s house for Burl’s 70th. He won’t be here on the actual day so mom put together a come and go party to celebrate. The hardest part of that was resisting the cake. Fortunately, someone else cut and served it and I distracted myself in the kitchen making sure glasses were clean and plates were refilled. Since I didn’t know many people at the party, it wasn’t hard to stay out of the way.

This morning I went to the gym feeling good about my weekend eating. As expected, Pavel started asking me about what I ate. He’d been great about texting me throughout the weekend when I had questions, but wanted details. I admitted I had exceeded my wine allotment, but not in one night and I hadn’t let it affect my eating. I think he was ok with that. Then I told him about the amazing meal Steve cooked on Friday night. I was really excited to share it and hoped he would be impressed. Nope. Instead, when he asked me what oil had been used in cooking and I told him olive oil, he scolded me for ruining the meal. Apparently, when olive oil is heated it breaks down and loses all the good fat benefits. I was so dejected I actually started to get a bit teary. He kept talking until I finally told him to shut up. I’d had enough. Here I was trying really, really hard and he’s harping on me for an oil mistake. I was really quiet for a bit and then he asked me if I was ok. I informed him that he needed to attend Finishing School to learn how to communicate. I said that I understood I’d made a mistake, but he didn’t have to make me feel like a complete loser for it. I told him that next time it would be more beneficial for him to offer a solution instead of being so mean. He agreed and all was well.

At this point, those of you who don’t know him might wonder why in the world I put up with him. Pavel is a wonderful person and a great trainer. I love him like family and I respect his knowledge which is why I go to his gym. If I didn’t think he was right about all of this I would leave, but he’s right in that I eat too many carbs and make too many food mistakes. He and I are learning from each other. He’s learning how to communicate with people in a nice way and I’m learning how to eat better. I know he cares about me and my health because he’s told me so many times. He also wants me to succeed. This is why I go to him, why I put myself through this and why I will someday (soon I hope) earn his respect too!